Kathrine Edith (Huck) Pfarr

Mom was born October 5th, 1929 in Cebu, Philippine Islands. At 11 months she took her first vacation with her parents, visiting China, Japan, Canada, The United States, Samoa, Fijii, Australia, and Borneo. While in Adelaide, Australia she met her maternal relatives including her grandmother.

June 1, 1934 she moved with her family to Manila, Philippine Islands where they lived for a year then moved to San Francisco, California. While in San Francisco, she watched the China Clipper fly out of the Golden Gate.

During February 1936, her family moved to Shanghai, China. During this time she experienced the war between China and Japan, which according to Grandma's records started August 1937. In September 1937, her family was ordered to evacuate to Manila. She was eight at the time and celebrated her birthday in Hong Kong. On her way home to Shanghai she saw the "strange" sights of a real war and heard many gun and mine explosions.

In September 1939, her family lived under Japanese control in Yokohama, Japan. During that time, her father spent seven months in a Japanese concentration camp. I have heard stories of the torture he endured during that time and can only imagine the impact it had on my mother and grandmother. Having watched the movie "Empire of the Sun," I realize they must have lived some of what was portrayed. My admiration of her and her family has increased greatly as a result.

On January 25, 1941 Mom and Grandma evacuated from Yokohama, Japan and moved to Santa Monica, California, while Grandpa worked in Japanese occupied Shanghai, China. Mom and Grandma stayed in California until after World War II. I remember hearing stories that Grandma supported the war effort by working for the airplane manufactures there.

At the end to the war, Mom attended Peace Day, V-J Day celebrations in Long Beach and Hollywood with her reunited family.

In 1946, Mom and Grandma rejoined Grandpa in Shanghai, where she stayed until moving to Denver, Colorado to attend Loretto Heights College.